Nicolas Cage’s Beloved Action Franchise Is Finally Getting a Long-Awaited New Sequel

The past few years have seen a number of movie franchises that we thought were dead and buried making unexpected returns. We’ve had new entries for The Devil Wears Prada, Beverly Hills Cop and Beetlejuice, production has begun on Bradley Cooper’s Ocean’s Eleven prequel, Tom Cruise intends to make Days Of Thunder 2 his next project, and there have even been rumors of a sequel to Matilda. Now it seems another popular franchise is making a return to the big screen, and this time it’s one starring Nicolas Cage.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported that, at an event devoted to the National Treasure films, director Jon Turteltaub gave the most promising update yet regarding the status of a third installment in the film series. Speaking on the National Treasure Hunt podcast, recorded at the first ever National Treasure weekend in Philadelphia, Turteltaub was refreshingly unequivocal in his enthusiasm for the project, at one point announcing: “It’s happening.”

This is the first time the director has said this publicly; in fact, he clarified to the stunned fans in attendance that they were “the first people I have said this out loud to.” He went on to give a typically Hollywood qualification to his announcement, saying:

“I have not said anything before this, but you deserve to have the scoop… It’s finally real. Now, it’s Hollywood real, meaning things could happen. Nic gets hit by a bus, there’s no National Treasure 3. If I get hit by a bus, there probably a National Treasure 3. Welcome to Hollywood.”

The original National Treasure was released in 2004, and followed Cage as the Indiana Jones-lite historian and treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, who discovers a clue leading to a legendary hidden treasure. To find it, Gates must steal the declaration of Independence, decipher a series of historical puzzles, and evade those who want the treasure for themselves. The 2007 sequel, National Treasure: Book Of Secrets, saw Gates attempting to clear his family name after his ancestor is implicated in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Turteltaub didn’t reveal any plot details, but said there is already a script that he and Disney like, and in terms of the cast, “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back.” This should include Cage as well as the members of his team, including Justin Bartha as the tech-savvy Riley Poole and Diane Kruger as archivist Abigail Chase. By all accounts, the principal cast are all still interested, with Cage, Bartha, and Kruger all keen to return to the world of the films. Turteltaub previously said of the cast: “There’s no one who doesn’t want to make it. We all want to make it.” Additionally, Turteltaub has hinted at the return of Sean Bean, who played the villainous Ian Howe in the first film.

This announcement follows producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirming in March that the project was moving forward, and that the script was coming along quite well, while screenwriter Ted Elliot has given some hints on the content of the script, specifically the dynamics between the principal characters.Turteltaub said that one of the reasons it’s taken so long for this sequel to emerge is the ever-changing, volatile political climate in the USA, and teased that the new movie will address America’s political divisions without turning the adventure into a political lecture.

It’s a classy move, announcing National Treasure 3 to genuine fans of the National Treasure series who have spent years waiting for the update. With so much speculation about potential sequels, it’s equally refreshing that everyone involved clearly wants to make this one work. Now let’s just keep Nicolas Cage away from buses until filming begins.